9 Frightening Product Recalls

Have a look at these scary manufacturer retractions

By Olivia Putnal

Product malfunctions and mishaps are bound to happen. Recently Toyota made headlines due to a problem with the antilock braking system on their 2010 Prius hybrids. Almost always when a company implements a recall, a letter is immediately sent to the consumer with instructions on how to return the faulty product. From hazardous strollers to fatal milk products, check out the most serious product defects from the last 40 years.

Ford Pinto, 1974, 1977, 1978

In 1974 the Center for Auto Safety initiated Ford’s recall of the Pinto due to a design flaw on the gas tank strap that could cause a fire in low to moderate collisions. Three deaths and four injuries were reported that year because of it. Four years later, Ford recalled 1.5 million Pintos and 30,000 Mercury Bobcat sedans due to poor fuel tank design. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defect Investigations found that the cars were susceptible to fires during rear-end collisions. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org.

Tylenol, 1982 & 2010

Seven deaths were reportedly linked to cyanide-tainted Tylenol bottles that were tampered with by an unknown suspect dubbed “The Tylenol Terrorist.” Johnson & Johnson had to pull 264,000 bottles off the shelves and ended up offering consumers a free product replacement, costing the company $100 million. This year another issue occurred when bottles of Tylenol, Motrin, Simply Sleep, Benadryl and Rolaids had an “unusual moldy, musty or mildew-like odor” due to a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole. There were numerous reports of related stomach issues including nausea, stomach pain, omiting and diarrhea. Photo courtesy of Tylenol.com.

Firestone Tires, 2000

When Bridgestone Corporation tires were linked to 46 deaths and hundreds of other accidents, the company recalled 6.5 million tires from various SUV models in 2000, making it the largest recall in United States history. Thousands of Firestone locations were bombarded with panicked consumers, while Ford attempted to reassure their customers that sports utility vehicles are safe. Car owners that were affected received up to a $100 reimbursement for each tire and a class-action lawsuit was filed by South Florida families. Photo courtesy of AFP/Getty Images.

Dell Notebook Batteries, 2006

This popular computer maker recalled over 2.7 million lithium-ion battery packs due to an overheating issue. When too hot, the batteries posed a fire hazard to owners of the Latitude, Inspiron, Precision and XPS models that were manufactured from April 2004 through July 2006. Consumers who owned a laptop that contained a hazardous battery pack were asked to remove the battery and use the power cord until Dell could send them a replacement battery. Photo courtesy of Dell.com.

Easy-Bake Oven, 2007

First announced in February 2007 as only affecting children under 8 years old, and then later expanded in July to include all youngsters, this recall designated the favorite kid’s kitchen toy an extreme hazard for children. The front of the oven posed a major problem—hands and fingers could easily get caught in the opening, leading to burns on the skin. From February through July, 249 children were reported getting caught in the opening and 77 children were burned. One extremely unfortunate incident resulted in a 5-year-old requiring a finger amputation. Hasbro Inc. recalled one million units, and when consumers returned the products, vouchers to purchase a different type of Hasbro product were sent as replacements. Photo courtesy of Hasbro.com.

Peanut Butter, 2007–2009

In 2007 the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) found signs of salmonella in their products. Instead of disposing of the tainted spread, they retested it and began distributing the products again. Obviously this didn’t fix the problem and the peanut butter recall ended up being one of the largest in the Food and Drug Administration’s history. Any peanut butter and peanut butter paste produced by the PCA in Blakely, Georgia, was eventually taken off the market. Nearly 500 people became ill, resulting in seven deaths and at least 90 hospitalizations. Photo courtesy of iStock photo.

Chinese Milk Powder, 2008

According to the Chinese Health Ministry, 6,200 infants became ill—and four were killed—by milk products manufactured at three of China’s most popular dairies. To save on costs, the companies added melamine, a substance used in plastic, to the formulas. Mengniu Dairy Group, Yili Industrial Group and Bright Dairy were all involved in the scandal. Almost every distributor cleared their shelves of the tainted milk products and 18 people were accused of assisting in the contamination of the milk. Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.

Honda Airbags, 2009

The 2001–2002 Honda Accord, 2001 Civic and 2002–2003 Acura TL models made up a recall of over 440,000 cars. The recall announcement by Honda was first made in 2008 and then again in 2009. Causing six injuries and one death, the driver’s side airbag was over-pressurized and released metal fragments when deployed, injuring the car’s driver in the process. For each owner affected, Honda sent a notice in the mail identifying the problem and a request to schedule a repair. Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.

Graco Strollers, 2010

About 1.5 million of Graco’s Passage, Alano and Spree models were taken off the shelves due to problems with the hinges of the strollers’ canopies. Five fingertip amputations and two finger lacerations were reportedly caused when consumers tried to open and close the canopies and children got their fingers caught in the hinge. The recalled models were manufactured between October 2004 and February 2008 and sold at popular retail stores, like Target, Sears and Toys “R” Us, across the country. Photo courtesy of Graco.com.

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